Gallop's Karate

When I moved to Tallahassee in '98, I remember this guy teaching Tae Kwon Do as a 5th degree. Within a few years, he was a 8th degree black belt and had switched from TKD to Shaolin Gojo, which seems to claim lineage from Van Clef's Chinese Gojo. I won't bore you with local speculation - form your own opinions:

The owner/instructor is 'Professor' Gallop Franklin, who:

Originally Posted by http://www.gallopskarate.com/professorgallop.html

currently holds a ninth degree black belt in Goju karate, a fifth dan black belt in Tae Kwan Do, and a fifth dan black belt in Tang Soo Do.
He has also studied Hapkido, Jujitsu, Hung Gar kung Fu, Wing Chun, kickboxing, boxing, and grappling.
Professor Gallop has personally promoted more than 250 people to the rank of black belt nation wide.
So if you want someone who has actually been around in the martial arts and knows about real combat and point karate and how to teach you and your kids there is no better instructor in Tallahassee than Professor Gallop.

A picture? But of course:

On his "Black Belts & Instructor's Page," there are a couple of notable inclusions:
James Warring, a known boxer and kickboxer who owns a kickboxing academy in Miami (which doesn't appear to have a website). The website makes the statement that Warring, "has been a friend of Professor Gallop for over 25 years," but it doesn't assign him any rank (other than 'Professor Warrng') or make claims of Warring studying under Gallop.
John Turner, an 8th degree (no style listed) and "10 times World National Point Karate Champion"Dennis Kelly, "Grand Master of Tai-Chi USA" and expert in Neuro-linguistic programming (http://dennis-kelly.com/bio.html). His bio is a laugh in an of itself.

And, after much scrolling, you get to the following instructors:

If you read the bio's, you find that a number of instructors (at least, the ones who are in Tallahassee) teach at local schools. Apparently, Franklin has arrangements with numerous local schools to allow his instructors to teach 'karate classes' as part of the after-school programs, for the low cost of only $45.00 per month. I don't know if he pays the school anything for the use of the facility and I've heard that his instructors are volunteered (or required to teach as part of their BB). I can't independently confirm this, though.

Oh, they also have the coveted "After School Pick-Up Program," "Summercamps," et cetera.

He hosts an open tournament every year that I attended once. It's a point sparring extravaganza, where the entry fee was $45.00 (in 2000) and everyone was guarunteed a plastic trophy. Mine have been occupying the Leon County Landfill since, um, right after the "tournament." I won't bother posting the picture, but here's a link to the "trophy table":http://www.gallopskarate.com/images/trophy1.jpg

There is the quote on the home page:
"Anytime you don't feel close to God, Ask yourself who moved."
Nothing like a slap kick to show your devotion to your deity.

I called Franklin's school to ask about James Warring, who seems to be a bright beacon of contact in an otherwise dark forest of point sparring, and was told (by a very nice young lady named Leslie) that Warring had "been a student of" and "trained under Professor Gallop." Leslie also told me that Franklin doesn't really coach boxers anymore, but he does offer private lessons to help people get in shape.

For this post, I called Warring's World Championship Kickboxing Academy (in Miami) and spoke with Mr. Warring, who was impressively nice and approachable. He said that he and Franklin were very close ('like cousins') and go way back, but he said that he did not 'train under' Franklin. They did 'train together,' and Mr. Warring emphasized that he believes Franklin 'knows his stuff' and is 'a fighter, 'but said that most of his students aren't interested in 'hard contact,' which is why Gallop focuses on point sparring.

To conclude this longish post, I submit this school to the critical eye that is Bullshido - enjoy.

I know Gallop through my landlord, Freddy (not the one on the site) in college. He was a former student of Gallop and still trained from time to time. I trained with him and even entered the tournament, taking home a 2nd place. I remember the SHINJIMASU jackets and the SHIKAZE group. If I remember correctly Kristal broke her leg (or at least was wearing a cast) at one point from doing leg kicks on a thich post or something.

I wouldn't say its BULLSHIDO as much as your typical Americanized Karate school.

Yeah, I can see why you'd think that. There is a lot of commercialization involved, particularly in the kid's afterschool program. After all, that side of the business is a day care center, incorporating karate classes three times a week. And yeah, the website's not very well organized... those pics are of instructors AND student black belts. There are no kids instructing!

Even if you were only exposed to the dojo side of the operation, I can still see why you'd think that. The advanced and adult-only classes are meatier, though.

I think of it as kind of an all-you-can-eat buffet of training. If all you want is to have fun and do point sparring while getting in shape and learning some self-defense, kickboxing, or whatever, that's all you'll get. Most people don't want more than that, and they do at least learn some valuable things along the way. But Professor Gallop does watch for the people who are serious about their training and want more. When he finds someone with that hunger...

Surprise. At this dojo, there is a core of students who do want hard contact, and train kyokushin. I guess if I weren't too lazy to spend time doing a school review, I'd rate its aliveness as a sliding scale of 4-10, depending on the student. For some of us, it's pretty rare to be bruise-free. And there are trees around that I'm sure really wish we'd find someplace else to condition because they're tired of us beating them up.

Professor Gallop's the real deal. But he's also a businessman. He's adept at finding out what people want and giving it to them, while pushing them further than they really intended to go... and further than they thought they could go. In some cases, that may not be all that far, but it's still further than those people would've gone without any training. It's about growth.

Yeah, I can see why you'd think that. There is a lot of commercialization involved, particularly in the kid's afterschool program. After all, that side of the business is a day care center, incorporating karate classes three times a week. And yeah, the website's not very well organized... those pics are of instructors AND student black belts. There are no kids instructing!

Even if you were only exposed to the dojo side of the operation, I can still see why you'd think that. The advanced and adult-only classes are meatier, though.

I think of it as kind of an all-you-can-eat buffet of training. If all you want is to have fun and do point sparring while getting in shape and learning some self-defense, kickboxing, or whatever, that's all you'll get. Most people don't want more than that, and they do at least learn some valuable things along the way. But Professor Gallop does watch for the peole who are serious about their training and want more. When he finds someone with that hunger...

Surprise. At this dojo, there is a core of students who do want hard contact, and train kyokushin. I guess if I weren't too lazy to spend time doing a school review, I'd rate its aliveness as a sliding scale of 4-10, depending on the student. For some of us, it's pretty rare to be bruise-free. And there are trees around that I'm sure really wish we'd find someplace else to condition because they're tired of us beating them up.

Professor Gallop's the real deal. But he's also a businessman. He's adept at finding out what people want and giving it to them, while pushing them further than they really intended to go... and further than they thought they could go. In some cases, that may not be all that far, but it's still further than those people would've gone without any training. It's about growth.

Some of us just do our growing in more... intense ways. :D

Originally Posted by ghost55

Violence is pretty uncommon in clubs in this area, and the dude didn't seem particularly hostile up until the moment he slapped me.

“I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out.”
BILL HICKS,
1961-1994

I think of it as kind of an all-you-can-eat buffet of training. If all you want is to have fun and do point sparring while getting in shape and learning some self-defense, kickboxing, or whatever, that's all you'll get. Most people don't want more than that, and they do at least learn some valuable things along the way. But Professor Gallop does watch for the people who are serious about their training and want more. When he finds someone with that hunger...

Surprise. At this dojo, there is a core of students who do want hard contact, and train kyokushin. I guess if I weren't too lazy to spend time doing a school review, I'd rate its aliveness as a sliding scale of 4-10, depending on the student. For some of us, it's pretty rare to be bruise-free. And there are trees around that I'm sure really wish we'd find someplace else to condition because they're tired of us beating them up.